Team Singapore’s athletes in sport climbing scaled new heights today (Nov 14) with Judith Sim and Adriel Choo both clinching bronzes in their SEA Games events in Palembang.

Encouraging Results

The results are encouraging as the sport is introduced in the SEA Games for the first time. In the women’s individual speed track event, Judith (14.46 secs) came in third behind Indonesian’s Fitriyani Fitriyani (9.39) and Santi Welyanti (9.36). In the men’s event, Adriel (11.38) just missed the silver as he finished behind Indonesia’s Abudzar Yulianto (8.65) and Vietnam’s Thanh Nhien Phan (11.37).

Tripping At The Start

Recalling her experience in the competition, Judith said, “I tripped at the start and lost my footing for a moment, but I told myself to keep going. I managed to keep my movements fluid and just follow the momentum.” The 22-year-old was happy but said she could have done better.

Happy With Bronze

As for Adriel, he was exasperated when he fell off the speed track during the semi-finals. Still he managed to keep his composure and made a comeback to clinch bronze. Recalling what happened, he said, “I fell off during the semi-finals due to a slip. I was too nervous. But I’m glad to have won the bronze.”

More Medals?

Both are hopping for more medals. Said Judith confidently, “I think that the Singapore climbers really have it up there. We have strong climbers in all events.” Adriel added that the team’s results here represented a “really huge step” for sport climbing in Singapore. “I am very happy that our sport has finally broken out of its shell,” he said.